The Dillon tribune., 1887-06-24
LIFE IN THE STEERAcE
Man VII" Has Had f:xpericnce Saw.
1t IL No 'Se., plcnic,''

=" w JVc SCeeNAGE.
a Nan WI" Has Had Experiences Saws
1t Is No "se.. Picnic"
;, A writer in Outing puts in I. plea for
tho steerage. and advises individuals or
families to whom ''cxlnn<lit,,rc is in any
important degree 81 consideration to
travel ny that means, as they can yet to
their destination at tho rate of IS a t]ay
instead Of at 31Oa day. .Thc romance
q travel, lko the romance OF life. Is tho
rough side Of 1t. /" this writer SAYS. ..N-hv
not regard an experience in the steeracr
as see picnic ora bit Of marine. ,,,sti-
A 4entlenian who made a. trip in the
steeraec Of a,l ocean steaulslip inst for
run, read the article in Outing with
much interest. II f-wonder IL the writer
ever tried 4 stecrage passagey'' he said to
2 reporter Tor. This paper. II thiHk not.
the chances arc that 10 has IlerSly stood
OF the 'bridge' and watched the Steerapc
VICTIMS IN their pleasanter odd moments,
when they are allowed on deck, and arc
Joyous in their ten porary rel from
their dark Imprisonment below: Ger
tainly no man who had ever been 1, steer.
age passenger. in reality would recon-
mend s,icI, 'an experiment to any but Il
lost, soul who had only that; means gn Vs.
cape from some dread calamity. "A
ste1:gc lN,ssagel ss(ireat heavens! Does
tire writer realize the~full meaning of his
advice! Now let inc stell you. what a.
steelrsst, Is Ike. a long, low. dark room;
dinly illuminated during the day by
Struggling r:iys through the thick head
lights, against WHICH tho waters swash
'contipually, and at nightly n smoky Ian
tern whose clleerless rays only add to the
cileertbs gloom. A long board table, a
few round stools constitute the only
furnitsilv. Along the sides arc rant,d
two or three tiers Of open hunks against
the damp ship timlers, for tho room is.
mostly below the water line. ~. Z
'.1e,c are gathered promisc,,o,,slv
men, wnhei,' and clil,hth. ,h,aylcd to-
;yctl,er like animals rather than human
beings in their miserable 4tlarttas, and III
their forced confinement n,odcsty is soon
forgotten. The ventilation at best is but,
scant. and the eNhalatinns from, the ,er-
spring bodies and their not ,rcsuiean g;,l,-
mciits. together will, the rt+'kr,g ti,nle,,.
tic ot!or of pitch, tho misty lc,:,ll,g, the.
steam from the food and the fumes from.
oil tobacco pipes. render the utulux1.!.erc
foul, sitting, ard ,,a,1scating in tie ex-
trclne, wllicl, is by no means clarified IN
case Of Violent weather when seasickness
is common. The only escape, from. the
,,ninviting pen il when tln, victims are al
lowed on deck. In pleasant weather life
on deck i,'J1,joyal1le and full of interest.
''Tllc nMnu OF the stecroge usually in
cludes SONS in tin kettles, coarse meats,
hash, i'll boiled POTATOES and broken bread
from the cabin table. This food is served
in tin dfshpans. Tea and coffee are y,asset,
around in buckets, the principal differ
cncc between them being that the tea is
less thick and muddy than the coffee. The
whole mess is slung pell nell on the table
and tho passengers make a dive and grab.
The nt,mxr Of tin plates and cups. iron
knives and forks and tin spoons is linn
tied Hcor she who fails to secure sup
ply of dishes at Tie first grab must simply
wait till some luclsicr individual finishes.
There being no possible opportunity to
wash the utensils. they must be used as
they arc. except such cleaning us could
be done by @rapig off with the knife,
Then there is another matter that
claims attention.. No facilities are pro-
vided for bathing. The steerage passen-
ger may wash his hands and face in tho
common, tin wash dish ON deck. but that's
all. Under such conditions bugs and
vermin thrive apace, and the less one il
inclined to tolerate them the more they
are determined to grow intimate, and
their increase is only determined by the
length Of the voyage. New York Com
mcrcial Advertiser.